07/24/2026
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𝗥𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗸.
The Roses of Kilravock were of Norman origin, deriving from Ros near Caen in Normandy. They settled at Geddes in Inverness-shire by 1219, when Hugh Rose of Geddes witnessed the foundation charter of Beauly Priory. The name changed to Rose of Kilravock when Hugh Rose of Geddes' son acquired the lands through marriage to Marie de Bosco (daughter of Elizabeth de Bisset and Sir Andrew de Bosco) around 1290. In 1293, Hugh Rose obtained a charter from John Balliol creating him Baron of Kilravock.
The family maintained an unbroken line of direct descent from parent to child for 25 generations from 1293 to 2012 — described as unique in Scottish history.
The castle (pronounced Kilrawk, from Gàidhlig Cill Rathaig, church at the small circular fort) was built c. 1460 by Hugh, 7th Baron, under licence from the Lord of the Isles. The tower was reputedly completed within a single year. The mansion house was added in 1553 by the 10th Baron to house his household of 17 sisters and daughters.
Notable visitors included Mary, Queen of Scots (1562), James VI (1598), Prince Charles Edward Stuart (four days before Culloden, 1746), the Duke of Cumberland (soon after Culloden), and Robert Burns (September 1787).
Elizabeth Rose, 19th Baroness of Kilravock (1747–1815)
Elizabeth Rose is the most academically studied member of the family. She succeeded her brother in 1782, married her cousin Hugh Rose of Brea in 1779 (he died the following year), and lived as a widow managing the estate for 36 years.
She was a remarkable figure of the Scottish Enlightenment: a prolific letter writer, diarist (keeping a journal from 1771 to 1815), literary critic, and composer. She corresponded with Henry Mackenzie (author of The Man of Feeling), and their letters were published as Letters to Elizabeth Rose of Kilravock on Literature, Events and People, 1768–1815, edited by Horst W. Drescher (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1967).
Robert Burns visited her in 1787 and described her as a true chieftain's wife with sterling sense, warm heart, strong passions, honest pride, all in an uncommon degree. A presentation copy from Burns survives inscribed: To Mrs. Rose of Kilravock, with Mr. [Robert] Burns's best compliments.
The most famous event occurred during the Jacobite rising of 1745. Hugh, 16th Laird, despite favouring the government cause, cordially entertained Prince Charles Edward Stuart at Kilravock Castle. At the same time, the Duke of Cumberland occupied the Rose's town house in Nairn. When Cumberland later visited and remarked, You have had my cousin here? the Laird hastened to explain he had no means of refusing. Cumberland replied that he had done quite right.
Recent Developments
In June 2025, the Kilravock Castle archive was sold at auction by Lyon & Turnbull, fetching over £124,000. The National Library of Scotland acquired five key documents (Acc.14743): a charter of James III with his great seal (1475), a 16th-century indulgence, two letters of James V, and one letter of James VI. These are now held at George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. The castle itself was also sold in 2025, ending over 560 years of Rose family connection.
References
Rose, Hew; Shaw, Lachlan; Innes, Cosmo (eds.). A Genealogical Deduction of the Family of Rose of Kilravock. Aberdeen: The Spalding Club, 1848.
Innes, Cosmo. Sketches of Early Scottish History. Edinburgh,
Mackenzie, Henry; Rose, Elizabeth. Letters to Elizabeth Rose of Kilravock on Literature, Events and People, 1768–1815. Ed. Horst W. Drescher. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1967.
National Library of Scotland. Papers from the archive of the Rose family of Kilravock (Acc.14743).
